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PHOTO CAPTION                                     August 13, 1996         
                                                  Europa's Active Surface
                                                  P-47169 bw

A newly discovered impact crater can be seen just right of the
center of this image of Jupiter's moon Europa returned by NASA's
Galileo spacecraft camera. The crater is about 30 kilometers (18.5 miles)
in diameter. The impact excavated into Europa's icy crust, throwing debris
(seen as whitish material) across the surrounding terrain. Also visible is
a dark band, named Belus Linea, extending east-west across the image. This
type of feature, which scientists call a "triple band," is characterized
by a bright stripe down the middle. The outer margins of this and other
triple bands are diffuse, suggesting that the dark material was put there
as a result of possible geyser-like activity which shot gas and rocky debris
from Europa's interior. The curving "X" pattern seen in the lower left corner
of the image appears to represent fracturing of the icy crust and infilling
by slush which froze in place.

The crater is centered at about 2 degrees north latitude by 239 degrees west
longitude. The image was taken from a distance of 156,000 kilometers (about
96,300 miles) on June 27, 1996, during Galileo's first orbit around Jupiter.
The area shown is 860 by 700 kilometers (530 by 430 miles), or about the size
of Oregon and Washington combined. 

The Galileo mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.